Abstract: Objective To evaluate the efficacy of pegylated interferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin in patients with hepatitis C virus(HCV) and hepatitis B virus/(HBV) coinfection. Methods A retrospective study was designed to analyze the efficacy of therapy with pegylated interferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin in 56 patients with HCV infection and 46 patients with HCV/HBV coinfection for 48 weeks and follow-up for 24 weeks. At the same time 60 patients with HBV infection were treated with pegylated interferon alpha-2a. Results The sustained virological response(SVR) rate of HCV/HBV coinfection was markedly lower than that of single HCV infection(13.04% vs 48.21%, OR: 6.207, 95% CI: 1.655-23.28, χ²=8.562, P=0.003) as well as lower than that of single HBV infection(13.04% vs 45.00%, OR: 5.455, 95% CI: 1.463-20.332, χ²=7.357, P=0.007). Conclusion The IFNα plus ribavirin treatment was effective in HCV/HBV coinfected patients, but its efficacy was not as good as those in single HCV infected patients and single HBV infected patients. More powerful methods for treating HCV/HBV coinfection should be developed in the near future.

Key words: hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, coinfection, Interferon alfa